By James Pilcher and Jeff McKinney
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Convergys Corp., the Cincinnati billing and customer-care provider, Tuesday reported that profit fell for the fourth quarter and the year as the economy cut into its telecommunications services.

Excluding special items, net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $48.4 million, or 31 cents a diluted share, down 24 percent from $63.4 million, or 37 cents, a year earlier. Revenue totaled $564.8 million, down from $590.7 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected 32 cents a share on average.

Fourth-quarter operating income, excluding goodwill amortization and special items, came in at $78.2 million, down from $105.2 million in the year-ago period.

The company recorded $107.7 million in pretax charges for the quarter after announcing a restructuring. Convergys said it will consolidate operations and eliminate about 1,050 jobs worldwide.

For the year, net income fell to $222.7 million, or $1.34 a diluted share, from $244.9 million, or $1.40, in 2001. Revenue totaled $2.29 billion in 2002, versus $2.32 billion the year before.

In other reports:

Meridian Bioscience Inc.: The Newtown-based medical test manufacturer reported a 20 percent rise in net profits in the fiscal first quarter of 2002 compared to the same period the previous year, recording its highest-ever quarterly net sales figure.

The company, which makes tests that can detect ulcers and E. coli, reported net profits of $1.4 million for the period, up from just under $1.2 million a year earlier. That equated to earnings of 10 cents a share, up from eight cents in fiscal first quarter 2001.

The company reported net sales of $16.1 million last quarter, up from just under $13.6 million a year ago - a 19 percent jump.

U.S. Bancorp: A double-digit gain in fee income helped the parent of U.S. Bank post a 22 percent rise in fourth-quarter profits.

U.S. Bancorp said it earned $849.8 million, or 44 cents a share, up from $695.4 million, or 36 cents a share the year before.

The Minneapolis-based banking company's fee income rose 16 percent to $1.55 billion.

Low interest rates prompted consumers to take out more loans, boosting fees in mortgage lending and credit-card operations. Income lending rose 6 percent to $1.78 billion as its net interest margin widened.

U.S. Bank, which merged with Firstar Corp. in 2001, also set aside $349 million to cover loan losses in the quarter, up 31 percent from the same year-ago quarter.

U.S. Bank, the nation's eighth-largest, has about 100 branches and 3,000 employees locally.

E-mail jpilcher@enquirer.com; jmckinney@enquirer.com.